Liu Shuang had never imagined she could move so quickly. She traveled day and night, reaching the border of the Ghost Domain in a disheveled state.

Outside Qing Cang Mountain stood a mountain gate, a thousand feet tall and towering majestically. Every pillar was entwined with chilling ghost energy, inspiring dread in all who beheld it.

She attempted to fly into Qing Cang Mountain but was stopped by the ghost guards: “Who dares to be so bold as to trespass into our Ghost Realm?”

Two pitch-black broadswords blocked Liu Shuang’s path, forcing her to descend from the air and explain her purpose to the two pale-faced, ghastly apparitions: “Forgive me, Generals. This minor immortal means no disrespect to the Ghost Domain. I have urgent business and request an audience with His Majesty the Demon Lord.”

Two commanding officers materialized at the forefront, with eighteen armed ghost cultivators standing behind them, completely blocking the entrance to Qing Cang Mountain.

One officer, dressed in black with his lower body composed entirely of ghost energy, spoke in a chilling tone: “Someone like you dares to seek an audience with our Emperor? Go back where you came from, or I’ll swallow you whole!”

If not for Yan Chaosheng’s strict governance, they might have truly drained her dry without a second thought.

The other ghost general glanced at Liu Shuang and swung his blade forward: “Go, go, leave quickly. The Ghost Domain gates do not normally open. If you wish to enter the Ghost Domain, wait for the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts.”

The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts wouldn’t happen until midsummer had passed. By then, it would be too late to save anyone—Cang Lan Lake would likely be burned to ashes.

Blocked outside the ghost gate, Liu Shuang realized how difficult it was to enter the Ghost Domain when one was no longer Yan Chaosheng’s consort.

She pulled out several spirit pearls from her person: “Might the gentlemen be accommodating?”

The black-clad ghost general’s eyes lit up at the sight of the spirit pearls, but the other stopped him: “We cannot!”

The black-clad officer had no choice but to angrily shout: “Leave immediately!”

His voice carried spiritual power, deafening to the ears. Liu Shuang covered her ears, initially reluctant to reveal her embarrassing status, but while she could wait, Cang Lan Lake could not.

If she couldn’t see Yan Chaosheng today, her home and all her family would be burned to death by the corrupt fire.

“I am… Liu Shuang, His Majesty the Demon Lord’s former consort. Gentlemen, please accept these spirit pearls. You need not open the ghost gate for me—just help deliver a message to His Majesty the Demon Lord, or rather, to Lord Su Lun or Lord Fu Hang, or even Lady Chang Huan. Tell them Liu Shuang has an urgent matter and seeks the Demon Lord’s aid. In the future, Liu Shuang will repay this debt with everything she has!”

“You claim to be the Lady Consort?”

The two ghost generals exchanged glances. Everyone knew the Demon Lord had a consort, but since she rarely ventured out, few had seen her.

They whispered among themselves, and Liu Shuang overheard their deliberation—

“Could she be telling the truth?”

“If she were the Lady Consort, why would she be here instead of inside the Ghost Domain palace?”

“She’s so beautiful, and she knows of Lords Fu Hang and Su Lun. She might be the Lady Consort. Let’s try—we’ve taken the spirit pearls, and delivering a message won’t delay anything important.”

Liu Shuang listened nervously, feeling both amused and helpless that, in the end, it was her face that convinced them to help deliver her message.

The black-clad officer took the pearls and vanished, going inside to report.

Liu Shuang felt extremely anxious. The corrupt fire could arrive at any moment—every minute she delayed returning meant increased danger.

Time trickled by, and finally, the black-clad ghost general appeared before Liu Shuang.

“What news?”

The ghost general’s expression was sour: “Go, go, go! Lord Fu Hang says you must leave!” For delivering this message, he had received several lashes from Lord Fu Hang, and now he could barely stand the sight of Liu Shuang.

Liu Shuang gritted her teeth and transformed into a beam of white light, charging forward.

The ghost general flew into a rage: “Stop her! Those who trespass into our Ghost Domain shall be killed without mercy!”

Eighteen dark ghost spirits tightly entangled Liu Shuang. The black-clad officer struck her back with his palm, causing Liu Shuang to fall and spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

The next moment, another ghost blade descended with lightning speed, about to sever Liu Shuang’s head.

“Yan Chaosheng! Your Majesty, the Demon Lord! I know you can see this! Please, I beg you, save the Cang Lan Immortal Realm!”

Before the ghost blade touched Liu Shuang’s body, a blood-red whip wrapped around it. Seeing the newcomer, all the ghost cultivators knelt.

“We pay our respects to Lord Fu Hang.”

Fu Hang retracted his whip and looked down at Liu Shuang with an expressionless face: “Immortal Liu Shuang, please leave. Your prohibition from entering the Ghost Domain is the Demon Lord’s order. His Majesty says he has never had any consort, and even if he did, her name was not Liu Shuang. I hope the immortal will show self-respect.”

Liu Shuang wiped the blood from her lips, stood up, and said with difficulty, “I understand that no one is obligated to help others unconditionally. I now come as an envoy from Cang Lan Immortal Realm to request the Demon Lord and Lord Fu Hang’s assistance. In the future, the tens of thousands of beings in Cang Lan will tribute to the Demon Lord for a hundred years as repayment.”

Such exchanges had happened before—when envoys proposed fair terms, Yan Chaosheng was often willing to help with matters that caused no great inconvenience.

Fu Hang remained silent, watching Liu Shuang wordlessly.

Fu Hang thought to himself: She has traveled for days, her face is deathly pale, and she’s injured. When the Demon Lord spoke such heartless words, there was only a fleeting moment of embarrassment in her eyes before she immediately cast aside personal feelings and assumed the identity of an envoy to negotiate terms.

Just as Su Lun had said, after dissolving her bond with the Demon Lord, Liu Shuang seemed to have matured overnight, growing stronger. Even in this dire situation, her eyes burned bright.

Fu Hang was not like the smiling Su Lun; his temperament was cold, much like Yan Chaosheng.

In truth, given their hundred-year acquaintance, Fu Hang should have at least helped report the matter to Yan Chaosheng, regardless of the circumstances. But remembering the Demon Lord’s cold attitude when speaking these words, Fu Hang turned away coldly: “Close the gate! Drive her out! By the Demon Lord’s decree, Immortal Liu Shuang is forever barred from entering the Ghost Realm. Should she trespass, kill her!”

The ghost generals vanished from Liu Shuang’s sight, and the great gate closed instantly. Liu Shuang pounded on the door: “Fu Hang! Lord Fu Hang!”

Liu Shuang slid helplessly to the ground.

Did Yan Chaosheng hate her so much? So much that he refused even to see her? He knew she was pleading for Cang Lan Immortal Realm and wasn’t asking for help based on their past relationship, yet he hated her so much that he rejected Cang Lan’s offer of a hundred years of tribute.

With his beloved Mi Chu by his side, the hundred years Yan Chaosheng had spent with Liu Shuang had become nothing but meaningless smoke and clouds.

Her heart beat powerfully as Liu Shuang pressed her chest: Don’t be upset, don’t be upset at all. Yan Chaosheng indeed had no reason to help a stranger; his actions had always been unpredictable, guided solely by his mood. At the moment of dissolving their bond, she had told herself never to feel hurt or wronged because of him again.

Liu Shuang looked at the closed ghost gate before her. Yan Chaosheng was unwilling to help her. Shao You had gone who knows where, and even Tree Grandfather, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, couldn’t break the barrier set up by a divine artifact—naturally, she couldn’t break it either. Liu Shuang realized for the first time that no one could help her. In this world, it seemed, the only one she could truly rely on was herself.

Liu Shuang stood beneath the mountain gate of the Ghost Domain, like an ant gazing up at the vast heavens and earth.

For the first time, she regretted marrying Yan Chaosheng and wasting a hundred years. During those hundred years, she had learned nothing, and her cultivation hadn’t advanced at all. She couldn’t save her home or the tens of thousands of beings in Cang Lan.

If Yan Chaosheng had cherished her, she would have been a vine twining around him in his tent. But when he turned cold and heartless, she became nothing. Yan Chaosheng was the ruler of two realms—without his permission, she couldn’t even see Su Lun or Chang Huan.

The spot on her back where the ghost general had struck her throbbed with pain. Liu Shuang suddenly didn’t know where to go or who could save Cang Lan Lake.

A wave of despair surged in her heart. Liu Shuang gritted her teeth and turned to leave.

She couldn’t give up; she had to try. The worst outcome would be failing to break the barrier and dying alongside Tree Grandfather and the others in the corrupt fire.

But before she had flown far, a golden net descended from the sky, enveloping her completely.

Liu Shuang’s mind flared with pain before she fell unconscious.

Before losing consciousness, she heard a man’s voice saying: “Oh? Seems like I caught the wrong person?”

The pearl curtains swayed in the breeze. When Liu Shuang opened her eyes, she discovered that her hands and feet were bound with rope. She tried to break free, but the golden ropes seemed to come alive, growing tighter, almost cutting into her flesh.

“Awake? I advise you not to waste your energy. If the Immortal Binding Rope were so easily broken, the Immortal Realm would have perished long ago.”

Liu Shuang looked toward the voice. A man in white robes approached slowly, wearing a golden jade crown and bearing a dignified, upright appearance.

His demeanor, however, was entirely different. The young man’s neck still had water droplets on it, his robes carelessly fastened and half-open, exuding an air of dissipation.

Behind him was a steaming bath, clearly indicating that while she was unconscious, this person had been casually bathing in the hall.

Before he even reached her, his robes had come undone, and Liu Shuang quickly averted her eyes.

The man laughed with pleasure.

Liu Shuang gritted her teeth: “Who might Your Excellency be? This minor immortal does not recall offending you. Please release me.”

The man leisurely pinched her chin, turning her face toward him, and said with a smile: “Why don’t you guess? I think you already know.”

Though his movements were casual, his actions revealed an unwavering firmness that brooked no refusal. Liu Shuang felt her chin might bruise from his grip.

Liu Shuang had no choice but to speak: “Heavenly Lord Feng Fuming?”

Feng Fuming smiled: “I told you, you’d guess it.”

He released Liu Shuang and, with a wave of his hand, a pot of clear tea appeared on the table. He brewed and drank the tea with fluid grace, saying, “Yan Chaosheng dared to take Mi Chu away, so he should have anticipated this day. He dared to abduct this lord’s consort, so naturally, his consort must pay the price.”

Thinking of the uncertain fate of the people of Cang Lan Lake, Liu Shuang anxiously said: “Great Heavenly Lord, I am no longer the Demon Lord’s consort. We performed the spirit-dissolving ceremony and have no more connection. I am also not Heavenly Consort Mi Chu—I am not the person you seek. I have urgent matters to attend to and lives to save. Could you please release me?”

Feng Fuming finished brewing his tea. He took a light sip and looked at her lazily.

“Of course I can.”

Before Liu Shuang could feel joy, he slowly added the second half of his sentence: “As long as Yan Chaosheng brings Mi Chu in exchange. Rest assured, I’ve already informed him. Tomorrow at noon, at the Heavenly Realm’s gate, if he brings Mi Chu, this lord naturally won’t trouble a woman like you. But if he doesn’t come…”

Feng Fuming smiled: “Little celestial herb, you won’t want to know the consequences.”

Though he was smiling, Liu Shuang felt chilled to the bone by his gaze. The Heavenly Lord Feng Fuming, who could easily discern others’ true forms, was not to be underestimated.

During her time with Yan Chaosheng, she had often heard of this Heavenly Lord’s style. Though his appearance was handsome, his actions were decisive and ruthless, often doing unexpected things amid laughter and conversation.

Liu Shuang pressed her lips together: “The Demon Lord won’t agree. He loves Heavenly Consort Mi Chu, and they’re finally together after such difficulty. He would never agree to exchange Heavenly Consort Mi Chu for me. Great Heavenly Lord, I am merely a small celestial herb with low spiritual power. I can’t help you with anything, and capturing me won’t give you any leverage over Yan Chaosheng.”

Feng Fuming’s gaze circled her face, and he smiled: “That remains to be seen.”

He offered Liu Shuang a cup of tea, but she shook her head.

Without visible movement from Feng Fuming, all the teacups on the jade table vanished.

“You don’t understand men. Even if he doesn’t love you or want you anymore, it doesn’t mean he’ll tolerate you being defiled by another. Just as this lord doesn’t love Mi Chu—even if I killed her with my own hands, I wouldn’t allow her to be intimate with Yan Chaosheng.”

An ominous feeling rose in Liu Shuang’s heart: “What does the Heavenly Lord mean?”

Feng Fuming smiled: “This lord has sent someone to tell Yan Chaosheng that if he doesn’t make the exchange, his once-beautiful consort will serve the ugliest guards in the Heavenly Realm.”

Liu Shuang’s face turned ashen.

Feng Fuming said, “But don’t worry, this lord has changed his mind.”

Seeing Liu Shuang look over, he chuckled: “You are more lovely and beautiful than I imagined, indeed somewhat similar to Mi Chu, though you surpass her beauty by several degrees. Mi Chu must have trembled with hatred when she saw you. Her beautiful face…”

Feng Fuming pondered for a moment: “Even Yan Chaosheng doesn’t know that it was obtained through certain methods hundreds of years ago, while yours is natural. So, it’s just as well if Yan Chaosheng doesn’t come. He can keep Mi Chu if he likes her so much, and you can stay with this lord. This lord won’t be at a disadvantage either.”

Liu Shuang had no interest in dwelling on matters of appearance. Desperate for any solution, she said: “Great Heavenly Lord, regardless of what entanglements exist between you all, I truly am in a hurry to save people. The Cang Lan Immortal Realm has been sealed by a divine artifact, and the corrupt fire is about to arrive. As the ruler of the Immortal Realm, even if you won’t release me, would you please save the beings of the Cang Lan Immortal Realm?”

Feng Fuming’s gaze darkened, and he shook his head with a light sigh: “The corrupt fire is the destined fate of all grass and wood spirits in the Eight Wilderness. This lord cannot intervene.”

His tone was casual, his eyes indifferent: “Just a bunch of plants that cannot take human form. If they die, it’s simply a tribulation they were destined to face. Little celestial herb, cheer up—what if Yan Chaosheng comes tomorrow? If he’s willing to exchange Mi Chu for you, naturally, he would also be willing to intervene in others’ fate and bear the thunder tribulation for your sake.”

Liu Shuang was infuriated by these people. She never expected the ruler of the Heavenly Realm to be so cold-hearted. The beings of the Cang Lan Immortal Realm were Feng Fuming’s subjects.

Yet tens of thousands of lives meant nothing in his eyes.

The Eight Wilderness was vast, with countless immortal realms. Feng Fuming’s territories were extensive, and he didn’t care about the lives of beings in a small, desolate border realm.

Liu Shuang felt a chill in her teeth.

Bound as she was, Liu Shuang couldn’t sleep, and with Feng Fuming in the hall, she remained vigilant. In her mind, she constantly calculated the time, worrying every moment that the corrupt fire might already be slaughtering those in Cang Lan before she could return.

How desperate must those be who were trapped inside, unable to escape?

After an unknown period, a divine bird appeared beside Feng Fuming. He brought Liu Shuang along and said with a smile: “Let’s go. Whether Yan Chaosheng is willing to save you and your people, we’ll soon find out.”